Guinea Pig 2: Flower of Flesh and Blood
Sai EnterpriseCharlie Sheen believed this demented samurai dismembered a real woman onscreen.
While most moviegoers have never even heard of Guinea Pig 2: Flower of Flesh and Blood (1985), actor Charlie Sheen felt that law enforcement needed to watch it. A massive Hollywood star at the time, Sheen contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1991 — and informed them he had just seen a snuff film.
Directed by Hideshi Hino, the Japanese horror film is nothing of the sort. Released by the same distribution company that made Faces of Death so popular in Japan, the film is one in a series of five shorts based on Hino’s own manga comics. Its depictions of murder, torture, and mutilation, however, were highly realistic.
It’s unclear what state Sheen was in when he watched the mysterious VHS tape. What became history, however, is him watching the dramatized depiction of a mad samurai dismembering a helpless woman — and then calling the FBI to bring the man and filmmakers to justice. Remarkably, the feds actually launched an investigation.
Sai EnterpriseThe FBI investigated Sheen’s tape as a snuff film and eventually concluded it was a feature film.
“The FBI confiscated Sheen’s tape and proceeded to investigate all involved, including Charles Balun, an early distributor of the film,” reported The San Francisco Chronicle at the time. “Balun fiercely asserted that the film was a hoax and was merely a series of startling special effects.”
“Propitiously, the Japanese took this time to release Guinea Pig Two: The Making of Guinea Pig One, revealing the technical sleight of hand in all its bone-cracking glory. After viewing this film, the FBI backed off and dropped the investigation.”
It appears as though the movie could’ve been a real snuff film, with its producers merely shooting a fictional explanation as a way to deflect. While that doesn’t appear to be the case, the Guinea Pig series had already caused controversy in Japan years earlier — when the search of a serial killer’s home turned up a copy of Guinea Pig 6: Devil Woman Doctor.
